The invention relates in general to a device or assembly having utility for the collection and disposal fluids such as oil drained from vehicles, and more specifically to an assembly in which a fluid such as oil can be removed from a vehicle and disposed of without having to remove the entire assembly to the place of disposal.
In removing oil from a vehicle such as an automobile or truck, the type of apparatus most conunonly used today is that exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 1,951,498 which contains a unitized structure comprising an upper adjustable funnel which has at its lower end a discharge tube connected to the tube of an oil receiving container which nomeally contains a handle and discharge nozzle. This structure generally illustrates the state-of-the-art for devices which can be physically moved froIn the place of use to a disposal location for the oil, and typically are sized to handle three or four oil changes from a vehicle such as a car. The disadvantage associated with this device is that the entire device must be handled and moved once it is filled with used oil, and it is extremely cumbersome to move and pour out the used oil. Another problem associated with devices of this type is that the pour out discharge nozzle periodically becomes plugged or stopped because of sludge build up due to the constrictive nature of the nozzle structure. This requires periodic cleaning of the device which is both time consuming and messy. Because of the unitized structure of these devices, if the oil pan drain plug accidentally fails into the funnel and down into the body of the container k must be eventually fished out with great difficulty and inconvenience to the user of the device. Furthermore, this device is not easily movable, and therefore has a tendency to be tipped over in use.
Other devices taught in the art which are portable, are designed with much larger reservoirs for the used oil, and are extremely complex in design and structure, and therefore expensive to fabricate. These devices are illustrated respectively in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,531,765; 3,308,840; 4,274,645; and 4,638,841.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,660 teaches an automobile oil changing device which includes a receptacle having an inwardly extending funnel shaped central wall portion adapted for receiving and storage of a fluid such as oil. The device also contains a detachable cover which is adapted to enclose the central portion of the receptacle so that when the cover is in place, the receptacle may be used as a temporary storage and/or transportation container for waste oil which is later discharged into a lower container. The cover is in the form of a flat pan which is used for the initial receipt of oil such as from the discharge of used oil from a car.
It can be seen from the above, that oil collecting devices of the prior art suffer from a variety of disadvantages such as being difficult or cumbersome to use and/or are structures of large capacity which require somewhat complex supporting hardware and therefore are expensive to manufacture.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for a simple portable device which is both easy to use, and allows for the convenient disposal of used oil without resorting to handling a heavy and cumbersome device.